Tiger Temple Thailand

The infamous Thailand Tiger Temple is located at Kanchanaburi, our day trips from Bangkok take about 2.5 hours. It is very popular with visitors to Thailand and many people visit either directly or as part of a combination tour. Some visitors make the trip to Thailand specifically to visit the Tiger Temple. It is the oldest surviving Buddhist school and forest temple in western Thailand and a sanctuary for numerous animals, including several tame tigers.

Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, or the Tiger Temple, is a Theravada Buddhist forest temple in western Thailand. It is a sanctuary for numerous animals, including several tame tigers. The tigers walk around freely once a day and can be petted by visitors. The Tiger Temple is located in the Saiyok district of the Kanchanaburi province, not far from the border with Myanmar, along the 323 highway.

HISTORY :

The Tiger Temple was founded in 1994 as a forest monastery and sanctuary for numerous wild animals. In 1995, the temple received the Golden Jubilee Buddha Image, made of 80kg in gold. In 1999 the temple received the first tiger cub; it had been found by villagers and died soon after. Several tiger cubs were later given to the temple, typically when the mothers had been killed by poachers. As of 2007, over 21 cubs had been born at the temple, and the total number of tigers was about 12 adult tigers and 4 cubs. As of late March 2011, the total number of tigers living at the temple has risen to almost 90. The hands on approach of the Monks results in happy tigers and a successful breeding programme. Because of a lack of managed breeding programmes and publicly available DNA data, the pedigree of the tigers is not known. However, it is presumed they are Indochinese Tigers, except Mek, who is a Bengal Tiger. It is possible that some may be the newly discovered Malayan Tigers, while many probably are cross breeds or hybrids.

TIGERS :

Considering the hot climate, tigers opt for a primarily nocturnal lifestyle, they move around as well as hunt at night after dark to take advantage of the lower ground and air temperatures, the natural way to beat the heat waves. The best experience with the tigers is the early morning breakfast with the monks when the tigers are still very active and as the day goes on, the temple can get very hot and the tigers get very relaxed.

THE ENVIRONMENT :

The temple sees between 300 and 600 visitors each day. The entry fee goes to feeding the animals, and also to fund building a larger tiger sanctuary which will allow the animals to live in an almost natural environment. The temple is reforesting a large amount of land nearby ('Buddhist Park') to possibly release the tigers into the wild in the future. There are donation boxes around the temple for those who wish to help support the sanctuary.

The Tiger Temple practices a different conservation philosophy than in the west. As a forest monastery, no alcohol is allowed on site. Appropriate clothing must be worn by women, covering their shoulders and knees so as not to offend the celibate monks. No bright coloured [red] clothing, no sleeveless or strapless tops or shorts/mini skirts are allowed either. No shawls or sarongs for the upper or lower body should be worn.

HOW TO SEE :

The tigers spend most of the time in cages, being fed with dog food and washed and handled by monks. Once a day, they are led on leashes to a nearby quarry, where they can roam around freely. Tourists may observe this from some 10m away, and may even pet one of the tigers. So far, there has been one serious attack on a tourist. The temple collects donations in order to build a larger tiger sanctuary which would allow the animals to live in an almost natural environment all day long, with plans to release some of the animals back into the wild.

ACTIVITIES :

For a fee, visitors may join in the tigers' morning or evening exercise programme. No more than 20 visitors may do this at a time. The tigers are washed and handled by Thai monks, international volunteers and the local Thai staff. Once a day, they are walked on leashes to a nearby quarry. Originally they would roam around freely, but with the increase in visitors and the number of tigers, they are leashed for safety. The staff closely guide visitors as they greet, sit with, and pat the cats. The staff keep the tigers under control and the abbot will intervene if a tiger becomes agitated. Guests can engage in other activities with the tigers. These include bottle feeding tiger cubs, exercising adolescent tigers, bathing tigers, hand-feeding tigers and posing with sleeping adult tigers.

COMMENT web...

Name :Marria Banerson

Address :baner1@live.se 20th May 2013

Comment :Hello, Me and my boyfriend went on a tour to theTiger Temple and River Kwai/Hellfire Pass, the 1st of May 2013. We had a really good and exiting trip, thanks to the fantastic guide Jackie & the driver Bill. It was a day that we?ll never forget. A Very good arrangement and we can really recommend Thailandtours! Greetings from Maria & H?kan, Sweden.

Name :Daryl Goldby

Address :goldbee@netvigator.com 17th May 2013

Comment :To the Management of Tiger Temple Tour, We would like to say a special Thank You to our driver of the day. He was a very good driver and we felt very comfortable all the time. He gets our vote to be the best driver of all the tours we went to in the past years. We also appreciate the car which was in good condition. Our young guide was friendly and looked after us quite well. My wife and I really enjoyed the Tiger tour. Thank you. Best Wishes, Daryl Goldby

Name :I AM MANGOMAN

Address :mangoman101@hotmail.com 16th May 2013

Comment :Hi Susie/Tony.... The tiger temple tour was incredible. The van was awesome and so comfortable. Jeng & Adam were both the best. I look forward to the trip to Cambodia tomorrow at 6:00 am. Do you know when the balloon ride will be? Thank you. Mark Kornblum

Name :Brian Coxx

Address :candico71@hotmail.com 15th May

Comment :hi suzie, a short note to say what a great time we had on our recent anzac tour to hellfire pass ,nutch ?? I think was our tour guide and what a sterling job she did ,very friendly,showed a great interest in her job and nothing was too much trouble ,once again many thanks and a special thanks to nutch ?? regards brian cox

Name :nixx08

Address :nixx08@hotmail.com May 7th 2013

Comment :Hi Tony Just wanted to say that we enjoyed the tour last night. We both had a real great time and Aya was an amazing tour guide. We had so much fun with her and she looked after us so well. A great asset you have there. Thank you Aya so much!

Name :Dave Engelbrecht

Address :engelbrecht.dave@gmail.com 29th April 2013

Comment :Hi Tony, This is the third time that my family or myself made use of your tours. Again I must compliment you on the way that you run these tours. Our tour to Cambodia was well arranged. The guide that was provided, Kong Juedy, did a fantastic job. He was well informed and made the tour interesting. Many thanks to you and your staff. Will the refund be made to my credit card? Again thanks for all the well run arrangements. Dave

Name :Helen

Address :24th April 29013

Comment :Hi, would like to say a great big thank you for our 3 day hellfire pass tour. Jacky was a fantastic guide and looked after us throughout our stay. We had the best time and would highly recommend this tour. Thanks again for some great memories and wonderful photos and our new friend Jacky. Helen, Steve, Jim and Lou.

Name :ANNA FENSOM

Address :annafensom@btinternet.com 23rd April 2013

Comment :Hello, I am sorry it's a bit late, but I just wanted to say what a wonderful day we had on your Tour. The guide Tik and driver Somjai were amazing and really looked after us. I would not hesitate in recommending you. Many thanks for a wonderful experience Anna

Name :Julian Hooper

Address :julian@elevenmusic.com 20th April

Comment :Hi Suzie, Hope you're well. Just wanted to tell you what a fantastic time we had on the tour today. The Tiger Temple was incredible and we loved feeding the monkeys and the Elephant bathing also. Both Danupol and Bill were awesome people and great guides. Friendly, happy and attended to our every need and made us feel very welcome. Wanted to let you know what a great job they did, they really made our day. Thanks for organising the tour for us and we'll be sure to recommend the company, the tour and Danupol and Bill to our friends visiting Bangkok in future. All the best, Jules Julian Hooper John Watson Management Eleven: A Music Company

Name :Willie Richardson

Address :willie.1313@hotmail.com 13th April 2013

Comment :Hi Tony, I would just like to express my appreciation at your guide, Jan, and driver Addarm (not sure on spelling sorry), as we thoroughly enjoyed our recent tour of the Tiger Temple, which included elephant bathing. Our tour was on April 4th, it exceeded our expectations, we have so many excellent photos and video footage, thanks to the guides and also Jan and Addarm. It was an experience we will never forget, and we will highly recommend it to our friends. Thanks, Willie

Name :Katie Mitchell

Address :6th April 2013

Comment :Hi, We are just writing to thank you for taking us on such a great tour when we were on our honeymoon in Bangkok earlier this year. The tour guide was fantastic! She showed so many things and the Bangkok nightlife really opened our eyes! Please see attached some photos of the night. We will be sending through several emails at a time with numerous attachments. Feel free to put them on your facebook page! Many thanks and kind regards, Katie and Andrew xo

Name :joanna caston

Address :molly199@gmail.com 5th April 2013

Comment :Good morning Tony Just a quick line to say thank you so much for organising an amazing tour. Jacky was just fantastic - knowledgeable professional and patient. He really made our trip - he got us first in line for tours, saved a special table for us on the train and at the village and took great care of us at all times. I've worked in travel for more than 30 years and it's rare to meet someone so dedicated, calm and kind like him. It;s a truly wonderful experience and one we won't forget for a long time. I'll add my review to Trip Advisor but wanted you to know too. Kindest regards Joanna

Name :Mitja Mocnik

Address :mitja.mocnik1@gmail.com 4th April 2013

Comment :Dear Suzie, I am back from Asia and would like to express my compliements about my tour to Tiger Temple. Everything was just perfect, the driver ( Mr. ) was a very good driver and very polight as a person. TheTourist Guide ( Miss ) which joint us 20 km before entering the Tiger Temple was very nice Person, very professional; with a lot of knowledge, with very good english, she was taking care about everything all the time, she was very, very helpfull. I had a feeling that she was reading my whishes from my eyes, I belive I had the best Guide of all participants. She was really taking care about me every minute, she was with me all the time, I received the best possible service - and I believe it is not possible to do it better. I am very greatfull for everything they did for me, for all support which was given to me. Please say THANK YOU both of them ( Driver and the Guide ) - my tour was on March 22nd. I would like to say THANK YOU also to you, dear Suzie, everything was organizied so good that it is simply not possible to do it better, all the communication between us was exelent. Best regards and thank you once again Mitja

Name :william sutherland

Address :bill.sutherland@live.co.uk 3rd April 2013

Comment :We have recently arrived home from our trip to Thailand and Vietnam. We would like to thank Bo for an unforgettable experience at Breakfast with the Monks on 07/03/13. Our driver arrived on time, and was very courteous as well as being a carefull driver. Bo was very informative and had a good command of the English language,and although we had a 4hour drive back to our ship from Tiger Temple Bo made the journey more enjoyable as she pointed out, and explained landmarks on the way, and helped us pass the time with interesting stories about life in Thailand. I will be recommending your company to my friends

Name :Katie Mitchell

Address :katie.mitchell2011@gmail.com 26th March

Comment :Hi, We are just writing to thank you for taking us on such a great tour when we were on our honeymoon in Bangkok earlier this year. The tour guide was fantastic! She showed so many things and the Bangkok nightlife really opened our eyes! Please see attached some photos of the night. We will be sending through several emails at a time with numerous attachments. Feel free to put them on your facebook page! Many thanks and kind regards, Katie and Andrew xo

Name :Mick Beesley

Address :mick-beesley@tiscali.co.uk 23rd March 2013

Comment :Hi Tony We arrived back in Bangkok last evening after a really enjoyable two days in the presence of Jackie and Adon and we want to take this opportunity to say thank you to you and your team for such a brilliant experience. Adon arrived well in front of his appointed time, although we did not know it was him, and he made contact with us promptly at 8am as arranged, to take us to the Floating market, and then on to Kanchanaburi where Jackie was waiting. From then on Jackie took charge and paying attention to our needs and full of information and advice, but above full of fun. The tour schedule was well organised, nice food at your chosen restaurants and a super night at the Yoko resort. Please say a big thank you to the two guys for their extra special attention to the needs of my wife. I attach a few pictures promised to Jackie and it would be appreciated if you could pass them on to him. Finally I have a question for you "is anyone that is not known to Jackie at the elephant camp, the Tiger Sanctuary or on the Hellfire Pass and train ride?" Certainly he is able to offer a brilliant service. Thanks again Mick and Sue Beesley